Obolus
by Zampersand
Summary: REVISED. What if Remus Lupin had never been accepted into Hogwarts? What if Sirius Black was a member of the Ministry's Beast Division specializing in the capture and termination of werewolves? AU
1. Prologue

**Title**: Obolus

**Author**: Zampersand

**Summary**: What if Remus Lupin had never been accepted into Hogwarts, and was now on the Ministry's Most Wanted list? What if Sirius Black was a member of the Ministry's Beast Division, specializing in the capture and termination of werewolves?

**Posted:** January 5, 2005

**Revised**: January 28, 2008

**Author Notes: **This story has gone through some revisions, anything from little tweaks and error corrections to major plot and name changes. Life is hectic, so (as you can all well see from the dates) there are some pretty large gaps between chapter updates. But, as of now, I still like where this story is going and tend to continue it.

**Prologue**

Sirius Black sighed as he flopped backwards onto his bed. He then nearly jumped out of his skin when a stuffed penguin, disturbed by his fall, took this opportunity to ambush his nose. Unfortunately for the penguin, Sirius was quick to recover and the penguin's revolt was soon put to a stop. Seizing the florescent footed animal, he wondered briefly how angry Lily would be if he gutted the stupid bird. This idea was soon put to rest as he realized he did not want to be gutted himself. Instead, he settled for hurling the flightless bird across the room.

"Bloody toy picked the wrong day to mess me." He said sourly, even the abuse of stuffed creatures did little to console him.

Another moon, gone, and nothing. He could not believe it. The entire Capture Unit could not catch one bloody werewolf after nine months. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures was growing impatient and worried. Not like it was his fault in the first place; they should have called him in earlier. This case was nearly a year old, and the multiple Hunters that had worked it had had little luck. It was obvious that everyone's patience was growing thin, and he would have worried that the case would be dropped. If this had been a normal case, that is.

Last February a group of boys had been attacked. This was not too odd in and of itself, but one of the victims had been the Committee head's son. And even though the boys had worked together and managed to wound the assailant pretty badly, it was still being treated as a high priority case. While being questioned by Aurors, the wolf they described perfectly matched the description of someone on the Capture Unit's Watch List. It was a known werewolf with suspected ties to the Darklord. And attack had not happened during the full moon.

He had been on this case for several months now. He wouldd give one thing to the wolf; it was damn skilled. Sirius was the Ministry's best and he had a hell of a time even figuring out what country the thing was in. But finally, he had been able to track it to this forest. Probably. Maybe. Well, he had his gut and a few missing chickens to back him up.

Sirius frowned, that was a rare even ability even for Death Eaters. A bastard like that just had to be in the Dark Lord's inner circle, and that skill almost certainly helped him get there. With a wolf aggressive enough not to wait for the full moon, it was a high probability that this it not only had a history of violence, but had killed as well. Only this time it screwed up and underestimated its prey.

At that moment a small, wooden bird came whizzing through one of the cabin's windows, letting out a high pitched, squealing noise. Bolting into a sitting position the second he saw the thing, Sirius sprang off the bed. He spent a moment trying to grab the wooden animal, just for the pure sake of shutting it up, but quickly gave up upon seeing it was useless.

Hurrying to the door he shoved his boots on, not bothering to tie them. Then, after grabbing and throwing on his coat, he ran out the door.

The wooden bird was a signal. One that told him that one of his traps had been tripped. Well, not tripped exactly. Considering this particular trap was actually a sort of muggle bear trap… with a few magical attributes he had added on. So, technically the creature had been caught. He hoped. So far he had had no such luck. Obviously, since if he'd been lucky at all he wouldn't be here, chasing the thing if he had. He'd much rather be with James and Lily, watching little Harry grow up. But all he had caught so far was a tree branch. Though, it _was _a good sized tree branch, and if you looked at it just right, it did almost resemble a hippogriff.

Still, instead of being with his friends like normal people, he was chasing after monsters.

Sirius reached into his pocket for his wand, it was getting to dark to see the path properly. Then his jaw dropped. The great werewolf hunter had forgotten his wand. Letting out a few choice words, he turned on his heel and began running in the opposite direction, back towards his cabin. How could he have been so stupid?

Suddenly he felt a jolt and then realized he was falling. The last thing he remembered was a great pain in his head and the tree tops staring down on him as the world was cast into darkness…

**To be Continued…**


	2. Seek

**Title**: Obolus

**Author**: Zampersand

**Summary**: What if Remus Lupin had never been accepted into Hogwarts, and was now on the Ministry's Most Wanted list? What if Sirius Black was a member of the Ministry's Beast Division, specializing in the capture and termination of werewolves?

**Posted**: January 12, 2005

**Revised**: January 26, 2008

**Chapter One – Seek**

Sirius brought a hand up to his forehead and let out a long groan. Quickly regretting it as the small vibrations it caused worked only to intensify the stabs of pain through his skull. Dazed and groggy, it took him a few moments before he could remember why he was lying on the forest floor in the first place.

What the fuck had happened?

"Oh… bloody hell." He was shivering and covered with the early morning dew. He had been out here since before sunrise. This also meant whatever he had caught had had hours to escape. By now it probably had chewed its leg off and was bleeding to death somewhere in the forest.

Not that it would be a bad thing if the creature _was_ the werewolf. But with his luck he would find Bambi's severed leg stuck in the trap's jaws.

Sirius slowly got to his feet, grabbing onto a nearby tree as a wave of dizziness hit him. After the spots decided to leave his vision, he checked the wound on his head. It was caked in dry blood.

He figured he probably should treat himself before going to off hunt three legged Bambis, but decided against it. Sirius could think of several spells that would help, but with a headache like this he really did not feel like botching the spell and having his brain fall out his ear. It would be better to wait and some potions he had back in his cabin. That, and after being delayed for who knows how long, he really did not want to waste anymore time. So instead, he settled for concentrating on every foot shuffle, and not moving his head.

This probably was not the best of plans. Sirius cursed as he stumbled. Crap, his shoes were untied. On top of werewolves, his now even more pounding head, and everything else, now he had to worry about ---

"No." He stopped as a though struck him. "Don't tell me I tripped over my bloody _shoelaces_."

He hated shoelaces. With all the Wizading world's magic, why didn't shoelaces tie themselves? It made sense and certainly would save everyone a lot of grief.

Sirius bent down and furiously double knotted both of his shoes. He was hoping the werewolf gave him a reason to hit it a bit; he was really in the mood. The filthy flea bitten mutt probably deserved it anyway.

Ignoring a wave of nausea, he began pushing his way through the branches and bushes of the forest. Right now he just wanted to get there and see what had set the alarm off. That was it. Just get there, and strangle the living daylights out of whatever it was. Animate, inanimate, or the former limbs of said animate creature, just strangle strangle strangle.

He would have to be careful though; it would not be good to snap the werewolf's neck before he got it to the Ministry. It was against company policy; after all. The Ministry did not want zealots or protesters screaming about werewolf rights and getting in the way. It would just be another thing they would have to deal with on top of the War.

Looking up, he spotted the scraggly evergreen that signaled he was approaching his trap. Sirius frowned as the little man in his stomach started doing summersaults. They were both getting too excited about this, like they always did. Always thinking that this just might be the catch they were waiting for. Slowly, he peered over the bushes to where he knew the trap to be.

And there was nothing there.

Sirius would have sworn the little man just died a horrible, painful death. Pushing his way through the bushes, he was very careful as he made his way over to the trap. It may have been a false alarm, but even so he did not want his leg to get stuck in those metal jaws, especially since he still did not have his wand. Crap, he forgot about that. Again.

His eyes finally found the trap, right where it should be. There was not even a stick in it; he really hoped he would not have to get a new one. It took forever to put all those spells on it. Wait, he could see the trap! Not a pile of leaves on the ground where he knew it should be. The actual, physical, cold metal trap.

Moving in closer to get a better look, Sirius felt a wicked grin spreading across his face. The trap he had spent hours of his life perfecting was bloody, mangled beyond repair. The forest he was in was located on the outskirts of a muggle village and it was unlikely someone would be carrying the tools to do this sort of work. Even then this still did not look like spellwork. No human would have done this.

He had found his wolf.

xx

Carefully, Sirius sat on his bed. He seriously hated head injuries (not that anyone liked them, of course,) he'd had so many of them it was a wonder that he had any brain cells left. Head injuries reminded him of stories other Hunters had told him. How after they lost an arm or leg, they would still swear that the missing limb caused them pain at times.

Sirius really did not want to think of that, it reminded him just how long those in his profession lasted. He had been at this for just over three years, was not even 27, and was considered to be a veteran of his profession. It was almost as if people expected him to keel over at any moment.

He felt the spot on his head where it hit on the rock; silently congratulating himself that there did not even seem to be a scar. Not that he planning on shaving his head so it mattered or anything, just that he was getting to be one damn good healer. Maybe when he was done as a Hunter he could become a Medi-Witch. Right.

Looking over to his bedside table Sirius let out a snort, that was where what was left of his wooden alarm lay. When he had arrived in his cabin the little bird had been making more noise then it had before he left (that was what it was charmed to do, of course.) Then he, not being in the mood to deal with it properly, hexed the poor thing to pieces.

He was contemplating finally getting back to work, seeing it was past noon, when there was a tapping at his widow. It took Sirius a moment to react but when he saw the owl at the window he ran to let it in. Once inside, the owl flew right past him and into the kitchen, landing on the table. Sirius quickly followed her and attempted to untie the envelope from her leg, stopping when she gave him a sharp peck.

"Ouch!" Quickly he withdrew his hand and scowled at the owl, James and Lily's owl to be exact. "That wasn't nice, now give me the letter." The owl ruffled her feathers, moving letter further away from Sirius. She then looked pointedly at the kitchen cabinet. Sighing Sirius walked over to the cupboard and took out a handful of treats for the bird, he then waited for her to start eating before taking the envelope.

"You're going to get fat, you know." He said and the owl gave him such a look Sirius would have sworn she understood him. Opening the letter, he smiled as he saw the writing that covered the parchment, he hadn't heard from James in ages.

' _Dear Snuffles,_

_Hey, how're you? Everything is great over here (well, as great as they can get considering the current situation.) The little one is getting so big I can't believe it. Are you going to be able to come for his big 06? Ever since he last saw you he's been asking when we'd get to see "Uncle Snuffles" again.'_

Sirius could not help but smile at this. They had all decided to use aliases in fear of their letters getting intercepted. As they were discussing it, Harry, not wanting to be left out, had gotten involved. Despite how cute his Godson was, Sirius was just grateful the first few names young Harry had suggested had not stuck. Sirius was not sure he could stand being called "Mr. Snookums" for to long. Not that snuffles was much better.

Lily's new name had been a hint to James. And Sirius had personally chosen James' to "make up for his own's unmanliness."

'_The kid loves you to death, really. Rose told me to tell you that if you don't come and visit soon she'll seriously hurt you. Also that she loves you (as a friend, mind you) and she misses you._

_Are you still chasing after that goblin biter guy? You haven't given us any word in ages; we're starting to get worried. But don't fret; to save parchment I'm not going to give you the whole "what you're doing is wrong" speech. Although would appreciate it if you pictured me lecturing you. Seriously Snuffles, I know you feel terrible after what happened, but it wasn't your fault, and I doubt he would want you doing this to yourself. It's been four years mate._

_Hope to see you for the Holidays, and please, be careful._

_Brutus '_

Sirius sighed, as was typical for a letter from the Potters, or anyone else he knew for that matter. It was always the same: we miss you, be careful, and ridding the world wicked murdering monsters is wrong. Despite how much these things ticked him off; he could not help but smile and anticipate the letters from his friends. He knew their intentions were good, and that was enough for him. Especially considering how much he missed them all.

The dark haired man glanced at the owl, who seemed content at just sitting on the table, and then left the room with the letter in hand. He sat down at his wooden desk, and pulled out parchment and a quill.

' _Dear Brutus,_

_I'll do my best to get back to you for the Holidays; I really do miss you all. I should be able to apparate to your place for a while, maybe even stay for a bit if it's all right with Rose. I just got a new lead on my case, and it should all be over soon._

_Oh, speaking of the new case, I've been on it for a while now; I caught that goblin guy a long time ago. You've probably heard of my new charge, my boss told me the incident was in the Daily Prophet. Not his picture though. __The thing has never been captured before, so there's not one bloody picture.__ All we have got is the physical descriptions from his victims. Sorry, that just bugs the crap out of me._

_All I have to go on is the word of sleazy bartenders, grimy inn owners and a few mutilated sheds after the full moon. The trail ended in a village on the edge of a forest that I'm currently staying in. The villagers say there is a man who comes randomly during the month to buy supplies or do odd jobs for money. I was thinking with the way the case had been going it might just be an untimely coincidence. But then I'm positive it got stuck in one of my traps last night, only it got away. I won't tell you which trap, because the next letter I'd get would be a howler. Shit, I just gave it away, didn't I?_

_Anyway, this new werewolf I'm searching after was bit when it was young, and was brought up in one of the more… unsafe, areas in the Wizarding World. Being a beast and all it was not accepted into a school and spent most of its existence locked up in the basement. Not much human contact there. So Brutus, __you think this is just a normal guy who only turns into a monster one day a month__? That this is still monster is still the man he was before? Well, guess what, this one has been a __monster__practically__ ALL ITS EXISTENCE, there was no "man before". This just might be our beast; this may be the one that did it. He definitely fits the bill. Do you really think he__would want me to stop after all that beast did to him, after how close I am to catching it? _

_I'm sorry Brutus, but I am not giving up now._

_Snuffles '_

Sirius frowned as he put his quill down. He had tried in the past to listen to James and Lily's views on the subject, as they had for him, but now it was just getting old. They agreed with him that werewolves were dangerous, but legally they thought they should be dealt with like any other citizen. Yeah, right, treat the wolf that could literally rip you limb from limb the same as the average convict, who was virtually helpless without a wand.

Werewolf strength was one of many reasons he could think of as to why the "being or beast" debate in the Ministry was ridiculous. Werewolves are dangerous creatures that do not contribute to society in anyway. He just did not understand why Hunters had to wait for someone's life to be taken away before taking action. If you knew your friend was going to die wouldn't you trying to save them?

At this point the owl, sensing hostility, decided she needed to take action. So she flew over, landed on the back of Sirius' chair, and sharply pecked him once on the back of the head.

"Argh!" Sirius jumped and whirled in his seat, glaring at the bird. Grabbing the letter he stuffed into an envelope, forcing the owl to sit still as he tied the letter to her leg. He stalked over to the door and yanked it open, "now sod off."

Miffed, the owl gave a hoot of disapproval. She was only trying to help, after all, but she did as she was told. Taking flight she disappeared high into the trees.

"Stupid bird." Sirius sighed; he really had nothing to be angry about. He loved getting letters from the Potters, despite their nagging qualities, and was always happy when one arrived. It was just that stupid owl that always got to him. Not that any of that mattered now anyway, as he had thrown his link with the real world out the door. It was now time to go back to the horror story that was known as the life of a Hunter.

And he was going to town.

_**To be continued . . .**_


	3. Find

**Title**: Obolus

**Author**: Zampersand

**Summary**: What if Remus Lupin had never been accepted into Hogwarts, and was now on the Ministry's Most Wanted list? What if Sirius Black was a member of the Ministry's Beast Division, specializing in the capture and termination of werewolves?

**Posted:** December 22, 2006

**Revised**: January 26, 2008

**Chapter Two – Find**

Tap.Tap.Tap.Tap.

Sirius Black was still relatively sure this would work. A stranger eating four days in a row at the same shop was not out of the ordinary, even in a small village, was it? Normally he would say no, but this case just didn't seem to want to cooperate. A few days ago had been his first major break, and now he did not want screw up his chances. He had already made more work for himself as it was. Up till this point, he had been going into town to make his presence less of an oddity, but he had forgotten to ever actually loiter anywhere.

Tap.Tap.Tap.Tap.

That was his problem now. He had the perfect stakeout place, but the man behind the counter was staring at him. At least Sirius thought he was, it was hard to tell. The man, Ned, had more wrinkles than Sirius had ever seen in his life. Like one of those droopy skinned dogs, only worse. He would have to leave soon, he was nearly out of coffee, and he figured seven cups was already pushing it.

Tap.Tap.Tap.Tap.

Or maybe it was his fingers, constantly drumming on the table that was pushing it. Even though those five digits to him, they were beginning to get on his nerves. And yet he seemed unable to stop them. The sounds they made stood out starkly against the quiet dreariness of the town, and the caffeine buzz seemed to appreciate the change.

Draining the rest of his coffee, Sirius walked over to the counter and turned on his good boy smile. "That's some awfully fine coffee you've got in here, Ned."

Ned gave an odd sort of grunt, which Sirius had always taken to mean thank you, and started to make his way over to the cash register. Started, was to say, Ned moved like an old droopy dog, only slower.

"I mean it; you could open a chain of stores. Name it Ned's Coffee, or maybe Coffee of the Ned, something catchy like that. And people would just flock in droves just to get a taste this wonderful nectar."

Grunt.

Sirius' smile wavered, ever so slightly, at the edges. This was the regular routine; Sirius would try to start up a conversation and each day he would fail dismally. He tried everything: complimenting him, talking about the weather, talking about old droopy dogs, but all he ever got was answers to questions. It made his investigation extraordinarily hard because he could not be obvious, and a direct question was just so... obvious.

After handing his money to the other man, Sirius drummed his fingers on the counter top. He needed his change and he needed to pee. Really bad, and Ned was moving painstakingly slow.

Shuffling his feet, "so, err, you wouldn't happen to have a public restroom… would you?"

"No."

Sirius sighed and shuffled some more, "do you know of one I could use around here?

Ned dutifully set Sirius' change on the counter. "Yes."

Sirius waited, but it did not appear that Ned was going to elaborate. "Uhh, where?"

"The store across the street should have one."

Grabbing his change, Sirius said his thanks and headed out the door. This, surprisingly, gave him the perfect excuse to enter the store he had been monitoring for the past few days.

"Ah, Nancy, how are you on this glorious day?" Sirius said cheerfully as he entered the stored, the little bell above the door jingling merrily along with him.

"I'm quite well; thank you, and how about yourself? Did that remedy I recommended work on that cough of yours?" The owner of this little store was definitely an odd girl. She could not have been too much older than Sirius himself, yet it was almost as if Poppy Pomfrey's personality had a twin sister. Only she was more cheerful, which was a nice change from the sternness that was Pomfrey, but she was also nosey. But she was dedicated, very dedicated, and Sirius could not understand why she was not a nurse.

"I'm great, and it worked wonders. But now I seem to be in the need for a remedy for a full bladder. You wouldn't happen to have one I could use, would you?"

This made her laugh, "of course, right in the back corner there."

Thanking her Sirius made his way to the back, passing rows of bandages and creams as he went.

Sirius was just washing up when he heard the jingle of the front door.

"Oh my goodness! What happened?" Nancy's shocked cry could be heard through the wood of the bathroom door, and it stopped Sirius in his tracks.

Pressing his ear up against the wood, Sirius listened carefully for the reply. It was so low he could not make out the words, but they were definitely spoken by a male.

"Oh dear! You just have to be more careful! You've got to be the clumsiest man I've ever met!"

Gotcha. Sirius could feel a grin spreading as he stepped back from the door. He needed to calm his racing heart before going out there. He tried for an expression that was better suited for just coming out of the restroom, excited really was questionable for a man his age.

Taking a deep calming breath, Sirius pushed the door open; right into whomever was on the other side.

There was a yelp of pain, and the sound of rows and rows of merchandise being knocked into each other to the floor. All was silent for several moments before Sirius peeked around the door, only to find Nancy blinking in astonishment at her ruined shop and a man lying like a rag doll amongst her shelving.

"Sirius!" She said in shock before turning back to the man on the floor, "oh my goodness, help me get him up."

Not wanting to seem suspicious, Sirius did as she said and picked the figure up from the shelving. He had to catch him again as the man's knees buckled, and this time Sirius kept a steadying hold on his shoulders.

Everything fit so far; the man was a bit bigger than Sirius (although it was hard to tell, since he was so skinny) with shaggy brown hair. Sirius was almost surprised his suspect was not under a disguise spell; at least, he didn't think he was. He was hunched so Sirius could not see his face.

"Sorry, mate, didn't see you there. You alright?" Sirius said as concernedly as he could. This one was cleaner than the rest, but he still had to resist the urge to push him away and go wash his hands.

He did not have to resist long as the brunet slowly pushed himself away from Sirius on his own. He made a sort of noncommittal sound, which Sirius assumed was the answer to his question.

Nancy came over and set a comforting hand on the other man's shoulder. "Oh honey, are you alright?"

He twisted away from her touch, but gave a better answer to the same question Sirius had just asked. "Yeah Nancy, I'm fine." The man responded in a hoarse voice, he glanced at the one who knocked him down. A pale face and a pair brown bloodshot eyes briefly met Sirius' before they turned away to survey the shop. Clearing his throat, the man spoke again. "I wish I could say the same for your store. I'm sorry."

Sirius winced as he, too, turned to look at the piles of merchandise squished underneath shelving that was Nancy's store. He had always vowed there would be no casualties while he was on duty, but Nancy's shop had died today. Damn, that was a corny line of thought.

Nancy waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, don't worry about it. I've wanted to remodel for awhile now, and this gives me the perfect opportunity." She put her hand on the man's shoulder again; he flinched again but did not move away this time. "And don't you even think about helping me, I want you to go and sit so I can take a look at you."

The man shifted and gave a brief glance to Sirius before looking back at the floor. Quietly, he said, "thank you, but it's not that bad, really. I should be heading back."

Putting her hands on her hips, Nancy sighed and walked over to the counter, grabbing out a large brown paper bag. "Fine, but at least take what you came for." She held the bag out to Sirius, "fill this up with bandages and some salve for me. You're closer." She motioned to the heap of supplies, and Sirius complied, retrieving materials from the floor. He wanted to seem as willing to help as possible, considering a just knocked an injured "man" on the floor, but he was careful not to turn his back on the others in the room. Those fleeting glances told him his suspect was on edge. He was positive that was the wolf, and this one seemed to know when he was getting backed into a corner.

The brunet opened his mouth as if in protest at seeing the bag filled, but Nancy quickly cut him off "and don't even think about paying for it. It's on the house. God knows you'll need it, you've only just moved here and you're one of my best costumers."

Sirius handed the filled bag to Nancy, who handed it to the brunet. Sirius caught a glimpse of heavily bandaged hands as the paper bag was taken. "Thanks Nancy." He nodded to Sirius, and heavily limped to the door, the bell jingling after him. Sirius immediately moved to follow; he could not let him get far.

"Just where do you think you're going? I never said _you_ didn't have to help."

Sirius did not even pause in his steps. "I'm just going to make sure he gets home all right, I'll try to be back soon." He lied as the door closed behind him.

"You'd better be. I can't clean this up by myself!"

Ignoring her yell through the door, Sirius quickly examined the street. Luckily, his suspect had only made it a few buildings down. This was good. He had not apparated yet, which meant he might not want to expose himself to the muggle town folk. Now all Sirius had to do was subdue him, before they made it to the woods, without using magic. Piece of cake. Yeah, right.

He decided to go for the direct approach, moving in closer. "Crap, I think you're the only one that has ever pried that thing off with their bare hands. That had to hurt like a bitch."

He watched as the wolf tensed and halted in his tracks.

Sirius kept one hand on his wand, as he came to stand just behind the fugitive. "Now how 'bout you be a good boy and come along quietly." Like that ever happened.

Slowly, the wolf turned and Sirius could see the grim set to his face. "I don't suppose we could talk this out?"

Sirius smiled.

There was a sigh and a long pause as the lycan stared at a far off spot. Sirius could visibly see him swallow before their eyes met. "What'll happen if I do come quietly?"

That was a new one, usually they just ran, or attacked. Thinking about it, he answered honestly "I'll cuff you and bring you back to my cabin. There I'll call in my catch and wait for further orders from the Ministry."

All this got him was a blank look, "further orders? Do you even know what they're going to do with me after you turn me in?"

Sirius shrugged, "it's not my job to know."

Sirius tightened his grip on his wand as the wolf slowly set down the brown bag. "Will they kill me?"

He shrugged again. "They can't, legally."

"Beat me?"

"Same answer."

"Azkaban?"

Sirius nearly laughed at the absurdity of the question. "You know the dementors are gone, they ran off with your Master months ago."

The wolf sighed, "My master, right. So, will they lock me up then?"

"Probably." Sirius pressed his lips together. He could not quite tell if he was being stalled or if these questions were actually going somewhere.

He tensed again as the brunet crossed his arms, hands on his elbows. There was another long pause until, "will they feed me?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. That was a new one, too. "They'll have to. The Ministry can't seem to make up their minds whether you lot should be considered monsters or not. Their definition is too blurry right now for them to take any chances."

He watched as the brunet bit his lip. "So, legally speaking, they should treat me like they would a human."

Sirius narrowed his eyes, wondering if he really was getting at what he thought he was. "Legally speaking."

This answer seemed to set something off, and the wolf made a sudden jerking movement to the right. Sirius had his wand pointed and the lycanthrope's throat before he had even realized what had happened. Sirius stared confusedly at the smirk that appeared on the other's features, but a sudden realization made his anger flair up. That had been a purposeful test of his reflexes. Damn him.

Chuckling, the wolf gave him a dark smile and held out his hands. "Fine. Cuff me."

Sirius was on edge and he was pissed. The Floo Network was _temporarily out of service for public safety, we apologize for the inconvenience_. Public safety my ass. The network was probably down because some kid was trying to show his girlfriend how to get around security wards. And because of that he was stuck here with a werewolf on his couch. Yeah, that was real safe.

Sirius had no way of contacting the Ministry. He had gone through all that trouble of catching this one wolf for them, and they did not even know he had done it. Now he was subjected to watching as a dark creature was scheming God-knows-what right in front of him. He could be plotting escape, murder, or new ways to spill even more soup on the couch and make it look like an accident. There was just no way to know.

"You dropped another carrot."

Sirius watched as a pair of brown eyes peered over the side of the bowl to look at a chunk of food on the couch. "You sure that was a carrot? I know I've been out of the loop lately, but since when are they that color?"

"Shut up." Sirius growled, he did not need this. "I'd like to see you do better." He had cooked that stew himself, damn it. "And stop getting food on my couch."

"I'd like to see you not spill any of this when your hand shackled together."

"I bet you would." Sirius grumbled; there was no way a werewolf was putting him in restraints. "At least pick those up." The chunks of food on his nice couch were staring at him.

The brunet tried to motion that a bowl filled his bandaged hands, but let out a yelp as it slipped and salty liquid splashed everywhere. The situation got worse as the wolf reflexively stood up, only to fall to the floor as he put weight on his injured leg.

Sirius jumped to his feet, gritting his teeth as he knelt down to yank his prisoner into a sitting position. This was so ridiculous. "Idiot, I told you not to move."

The wolf let out a protesting sound at being moved, and hunched back over in pain. "Sorry" With a wince, he held up his shaking hands, "uhh ... you think you could take these off?"

Sirius stared at the shackles; he could not be serious. "Don't think a stupid stunt like that is going to ge--"

"The bandages, _stupid_. The salt stings."

"Oh." Sirius yanked the man's hands into his lap, feeling a bit of sadistic satisfaction at seeing him wince. "Fine." Slowly, he began peeling back the wet bandages. "How the hell did you evade me this long if you're this clumsy?" He asked, not looking at the wolf. "You get caught in my trap, knock over every shelf in a store, spill hot soup everywhere, and fall on your arse. I just don't see how you made it this far."

A defiant pair of brown eyes scowled at him, but the other stayed silent for a while as Sirius continued unwrapping the bandages. Eventually there came a low reply, "everyone slips up eventually. Even Hunters."

Something in the wolf's tone made a cold wet thing twist in his gut. He moved his gaze to the pale face before him, and when the other man finally looked at him, there was amber in his eyes. "You got to close; I could snap your neck before you even knew my hands were at your throat."

Crap. Sirius swallowed, hard. He watched as the wolf flexed his hands, which were only inches away from his chest. "You won't make it much longer. Too many of us have heard of you."

Sirius really wanted his wand in his hand right now, but he knew that he would be dead before he could make it to his pocket. The wolf closed his eyes, and when the opened aging the amber in his eyes had cleared, leaving something strangely akin to sadness in its place. "Can I rinse these out?" He held up his hands. "That overly salted soup of yours still stings."

It took Sirius several moments to register that he was not going to be killed. And that, instead of strewing his guts across his cabin floor, the werewolf was poking fun at his cooking skills.

"Wh-" Sirius cleared his throat to get his voice to work, wondering what he had been about to say. "Yeah, just a second."

He went and filled a large bowl with warm water, and when he came back the lycanthrope was carefully scooting to lean himself against the couch. With as much confidence as he could muster, he sat the bowl down on the floor.

"Thanks."

Sirius grunted in reply. He was definitely not comfortable with this situation. Being alone with a werewolf so deep in the woods no one could hear him scream was bound to make even the best of Hunters, which he was, nervous.

He frowned, "I'm gonna go try the Minitry again. If you even so much as sneeze I won't hesitate to hex you."

The lycanthrope shrugged in response, and Sirius quickly made his way over to the fireplace, happy to put as much room between himself and the wolf as possible. Shoving both the Floo Powder and his head into the hearth, Sirius realized Santa truly was dead when he heard a posh, female voice _apologize for the inconvenience, but the Floo Network_--.

Sirius felt cold as he yanked his head back out of the fireplace. He had no idea what to do. He could not Floo, he had no portkey, and the wolf could splich them both if he tried something funny while Side-Along Apparating. He had no way of holding the dark creature for an extended period of time. At least none that would be considered protocol for a human, and thus would get him in some serious shit if he tried them on a werewolf. Sirius wished someone would write a manual for this sort of thing. Actually, come to think of it, they did. But it sucked.

"Network still down?" Asked the bane-of-his-existence pleasantly from across the room, and Sirius wanted to smack him.

"Right, I thought so." The werewolf seemed to study him for a moment before saying "this probably wouldn't be a good time to mention my clothes are wet, then."

No, correct that. Sirius wanted to slug him, really, really, hard. He was starting to regret ever taking this case. It had sounded like it could be the right one when he took it, but it just seemed like a dead end now.

Sirius grabbed the first aid kit, swallowing his fear as he sat down on the couch. "Get up here so I can dress those."

Surprisingly, the wolf did as it was told, and Sirius found himself uncomfortably close to the wet, chestnut haired creature. "Thank you." The lycan said quietly. Sirius could smell the seasonings of his stew on the other's breath.

Feeling the strange urge to justify himself, Sirius bit out "I wouldn't be doing this if the Ministry didn't require it."

The lycanthrope smirked at this. "I know." He said. The wolf's intense gaze was unnerving.

The patronizing lilt in the lycanthrope's voice really pissed him off, and Sirius resisted the urge to yell. "No, I wouldn't." Emphasizing each syllable, he purposefully yanked too hard on the bandages.

That elicited a wince, but the wolf never dropped his gaze. He did not seem to give up, either, because the brunet spoke again after a moment. "You aren't cut out for this line of work."

Yanking again, Sirius glared. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said. You're too emotional, sitting close to me to show you weren't afraid proves that."

"You sat next to me."

"And you didn't stop me."

Having nothing to say to that, Sirius settled for yanking on the bandages again, not caring if it was childish. He was feeling out of control and did not like it. His time spent with this werewolf almost felt like a constant interrogation, which, of course, set him on edge. So much so that he had not done any interrogating himself; and Sirius still did not know if this werewolf had any connection to the one he was looking for.

"You shouldn't be a Hunter." That quiet voice broke through his thoughts. "Having an agenda like that will get you killed."

Startled, Sirius said "What the hell do you know."

The werewolf slowly took his newly bandaged hands from Sirius, setting the innocently in his lap. "Just that you're out for revenge."

Sirius felt his heart leap, could it be that he actually knew something?

"You could search your entire life and never find him."

Sirius growled again, "that doesn't mean I shouldn't try." The werewolf seemed especially good at pressing his buttons. He hated hearing his own fears voiced, especially by someone else.

Shaggy brown hair shook back and forth, "of course not."

Something about the way the lycan said that irked him, "I found you." He said, as if to prove a point. "You seem to know something."

A small upturn of the lips, and the wolf finally dropped his gaze. "I know people. I have the means for finding the type of person you're looking for, ones that a human wouldn't have access to by himself."

Sirius narrowed his eyes, and fisted his muggle pants with his sweaty palms to keep from shaking the werewolf in front of him. He needed time to think, but wanted the damned wolf to just hurry up and spit whatever _it_ was out. This might just be a way to get all he was asking for, even if it was not by means he would have preferred. "So what good does that do me?"

A chuckle, "more than you could imagine. Listen, you know you hold the rest of my life in your hands. But I don't think you realize I hold your's as well."

Sirius almost protested at this, but a look from the lycanthrope stopped him. Pleased, the wolf continued.

"If you turn me in now, you could spend the rest of your life looking for this man. No matter how good a Hunter thinks he is, he has no true connections to our world. But I'm willing to be yours. I'd do everything possible to lead you to the one you're looking for. Then you could be free again. No more Hunting, no more killing, you could spend the rest of your life with the ones you love."

Oh God. Sirius could not believe he was actually considering this. He was sitting in his living room, on his couch, discussing making a deal with a dark creature. A dark creature he had spent months and months searching for. Time that could have been spent with James, Lily, and Harry; time he did not know if could make up later in the uncertainty of war. Sirius clenching his teeth, "how do I know you won't run off, or purposefully get me killed?"

The wolf seemed to have already have thought about that, since he immediately replied "I'll allow you to put a tracking amulet on me, with two detectors. You can keep one, and give the other to someone you trust. I'll never be able to go anywhere without your knowledge, so I won't be able to get away. Also, if something was to happen to you, your friend would be able to find me and do with me as he pleases. And I have no desire to die, so there is nothing to worry about."

This was like the perfect gift wrapped in a sick little box made of human flesh. The package it came in was appalling, but what it was sounded perfect. He had to have missed something. "That's it?"

The lycanthrope in front of him seemed to consider his question for a moment. "As long as you provide things such as food and clothing, and treat me civilly, I'll be your wolf. I'll do as you say to the best of my ability."

After years of searching, he might finally be getting what he wanted. Sirius had the distinct feeling that what he was about to do should have bothered him more, but it did not.

"Fine. You have a deal."

The werewolf smiled. His teeth were too pointed to be human.

_**To be continued . . .**_


	4. Eat

**Title**: Obolus

**Author**: Zampersand

**Summary**: What if Remus Lupin had never been accepted into Hogwarts, and was now on the Ministry's Most Wanted list? What if Sirius Black was a member of the Ministry's Beast Division, specializing in the capture and termination of werewolves?

**Posted:** December 27, 2006

**Revised**: October 10, 2009

**Chapter Three – Eat**

It was a beautiful day in Diagon Alley. The sun was shining merrily, a surprising number of witches and wizards had ventured out of their homes to carry out a normal day of shopping during the war, and there was a pleasant buzz of magic in the air. Sirius Black felt the need to hurt something.

"Shut up." Sirius bit through clenched teeth.

"But—"

"I said _shut up_." Sirius quickened his pace; making brunet behind him stumbled to keep up.

"--we had an--"

"I said _not now."_

"—agreement."

"_We_ _just stopped_." With a frustrated growl Sirius whirled on his heel, firmly standing his ground. The abruptness of it caused the lycanthrope following him to run into his chest.

After using Sirius' shoulder to steady himself, the lycan looked at him intently. "We didn't just stop. We stopped earlier, and then spent hours looking around in all these useless stores. So now, hours later, I'm hungry."

Sirius could feel a vein in his temple throb. "You're always hungry." Saying he was frustrated would have been an understatement. They had searched every store that might possibly carry a tracking amulet, along with a few that probably would not, and had come up empty handed.

Then there was the werewolf. Never nagging, but using that annoyingly sensible voice of his to somehow convince Sirius to buy him two sandwiches, a pumpkin muffin, tea, and a chocolate frog they had to chase around the store after Sirius announced that he would not buy another if that one got away.

That chase had been made exceedingly difficult, due to the fact that Sirius had handcuffed them together. He was not willing to take any chances of escape (of the werewolf, he did not care about the frog,) so he had disillusioned a pair of handcuffs for them to use.

Of course, now the wolf was _tugging_ at the chain. "We aren't going to find what we're after in Diagon Alley," he said, sounding vaguely annoyed himself. "We should stop for something to eat, or go somewhere more. . ." he looked at the stores around them, ". . .productive?"

"No! We are not –" Sirius stopped and lowered his voice considerably "we are not going to Knockturn Alley."

"Oh come on, you're a Hunter" he was speaking very close to Sirius' face, and Sirius watched as the lycan wrinkled his nose at the word 'Hunter.' "You can not tell me you have never had to do anything in your profession that made you uncomfortable."

Sirius felt as if the werewolf was making light of the dim, seedy alleyway. "I've never done anything that's had to do with the Dark Arts!"

A passing wizard looked at their hushed argument oddly before continuing on. Sirius did not think he could have heard them. But they were standing nearly nose to nose, practically holding hands, having a hushed argument. Sirius could only imagine what they must look like.

The brunet snorted, and seemed not to have noticed the man. "Then you'll have nothing to do with them." He straightened up, moving so they were no longer sharing each other's air supply. "This is just a short errand to pick up a needed item. It won't hurt. Think of it as practical, they've got some useful things in there." The way he said that sounded oddly final, like he had already won.

"I'm not going to go on a wild goose chase in Kn—" Sirius paused, looking around to make sure no one was listening "in _that place_. It's not even a Dark item, if we couldn't find it here, what're the chances it'll be there?"

"Pretty good. Unless it was already sold."

Sirius made a frustrated gesture in the air. "What the hell have we been looking around here for? You knew where it was! Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I tried, but you refused to listen"

Sirius felt like disagreeing, but he knew it was true. He had not allowed the werewolf to talk much; interrupting him most times he tried. It was as if the wolf could convince him of anything, and Sirius didn't want to permit him to talk until he figured out just how the hell he did that.

But now he had gone and let the lycan open his mouth. And here he was considering leaving the comfortableness that was Diagon Alley, nearly holding hands with a dark creature along the way. Yesterday he had been firmly planted on the Side of Right: he fought to stop dark creatures for the Ministry and Death Eaters for the Order. Now he was 'neglecting' to tell the Ministry about his catch, and teaming up with said catch for his own personal gain. Respectable Ministry personnel did not do that. Respectable Ministry personal did not patron Dark Arts shops. Everything was getting too complicated for his liking, and he wished the aliens would just come and take him away now, before he did anything he would really regret.

"It won't be that bad." The voice brought his attention back to the wolf, who was watching him intently.

"Easy for you to say." Sirius mumbled.

"Really," the lycan shifted his hand next to Sirius' "while we're there, there's some people we can see that might know something." He offered, innocently.

Sirius was acutely aware of the possibility the wolf might have some ulterior motive for wanting to go to Knockturn Alley. This would probably be his last real chance for escape without any repercussions. No one knew Sirius had caught him, and the wolf could just slip away after gutting him. People would only be able to speculate what happened to that poor poor werewolf Hunter. But as it was, they needed to go there to accomplish the task at hand, and Sirius was getting sick of thinking about his own gruesome death. He knew doing what a dark creature asked was stupid, but he was the one with the wand. That should be enough, right? No, he was a complete idiot.

So, he allowed himself to be led through the crowd to his doom.

When they rounded the corner into the alleyway, it was so casual that Sirius almost did not realize they were no longer in the safe confines of the main stream Wizarding street. But something in the air had changed; it was suddenly cold and eerily quiet. As close as they were to Diagon Alley, the comfortable hum of voices simply vanished, as if devoured by some unseen force.

Sirius looked to the lycanthrope, to see if he had sensed it to, but if he had there was no indication. No change in stance, no hesitation in steps, nothing. Sirius could not quite understand why that surprised him; it would make sense for a dark creature to be comfortable in a dark wizard street.

Having been paying attention to everything but where he was going, Sirius nearly ran into the brunet when they stopped. "This is it." Sirius looked up to what appeared to be the largest shop on the street.

"Borgin and Burkes" Sirius read off the dingy glass door before them, and then he turned unapprovingly to the wolf "of course."

The wolf just shrugged, "come on." Moving forward, and thus bringing Sirius along with him, he said, "if you stand here gawking any longer we'll attract even more attention then we already have. You look awfully out of place."

Sirius smiled, "I'll take that as a compliment."

The inside of the shop was about as pleasant as the outside. The masks on the walls glared at them with malevolence, and rusty metal things hung forebodingly from the ceiling. Sirius had not known there were so many ways to store body parts. Skinned, dried, bottled, it was all here, and it reminded him an awful lot of cheese. Blocks of cheese, squares of cheese, shredded cheese. Sirius morbidly wondered if they had a can you could squeeze blended human remains out of.

Not pausing to look, like Sirius grudgingly would admit he wanted to, the lycanthrope limped the way straight to the counter and promptly rapped his knuckles on the wood.

"Just a moment!" Sirius heard an oily voice call from the back.

As they waited Sirius took the time to examine his surroundings more. There was only one exit he could see, and that was the one they had come in through. The two large windows on either side of the door were blocked by numerous artifacts, and the only other door was the one that the supposed clerk currently occupied. Other than a large stone fireplace a few feet away, not that Flooing was a desirable means of escape; there really were not any getaway routes that were pleasing to his Hunter sensibilities.

And then there was a cute stuffed dog staring at him from atop the cash register.

"Don't touch that," the lycanthrope smacked his hand, which had indeed risen, unbeknownst to Sirius, to touch the dog that seemed so out of place.

Sirius shoved his hand in his pocket, looking at the cute animal guiltily "what would've happened?"

"You'd have turned into a slimy disgusting old man," the lycanthrope mumbled, so low that Sirius almost had not caught it.

"Ah, Mr. Lupin" a stooped old man emerged from the back room, slowing his pace after seeing who his customers were. "What a pleasant surprise." It sounded to Sirius as if he thought it was anything but. "I wasn't sure if I'd be seeing you again. I'd heard you had left the pack."

"I'm not selling today, Borgin," said the brunet with a frown.

"A personal escapade, then" Borgin smiled, turning his gaze to Sirius, eyes briefly flickering down to their connected hands. "I see you've brought a friend."

"It appears that way." The lycanthrope said, brushing off the suggestiveness of the comment. "Speaking of friends, I heard what happened to Mr. Burke. I'm terribly sorry for your loss; it sounded like a horrible accident.

The old man's faked expression of welcoming turned to one of obvious distaste, but his gaze never wavered from the lycanthrope's. "We all have to go someday." He cleared his throat, and Sirius watched as that phony smile slid back into place. "So, what can I help you gentlemen with today?"

Sirius was thankful to have something to distract him from imagining just _what_ had happened in Mr. Burke's 'terrible accident' (given with what and whom Borgin and Burkes dealt with.) So he spoke up. "We're looking to buy a tracking amulet, and two detectors."

"Ah yes, a tracking amulet" Borgin looked between them, "right this way, please."

Borgin led them around cages, statues, and suits of armor to a glass case placed next to a large black cabinet. Taking a rusty set of keys out of his pocket, he opened the case and placed three sets of jewelry on top.

The werewolf watched as he did this, wrinkling his nose as Borgin slid his slimy hair back from his face "I see you've gotten more…" Sirius could almost hear think 'greasy' in his brief pause "since I was last here."

Borgin smiled, obliviously, looking almost proud, "yes, I was a bit surprised myself, seeing as quality ones can be a bit difficult to come by."

All the amulets were so. . .pretty. Sirius felt odd picking out a piece of jewelry for another man. "So there's a difference in quality."

"Of course. If I'm not presuming too much, for you I'd recommend . . ." he trailed off, looking between the pieces as if trying to remember something. "This one. It's a bit more expensive than the other two, but it has the ability to . .. bend . . . if the wearer were to change form." He looked directly at the brunet standing next to him.

Sirius felt something cold flop in his stomach. He thought he had considered everything that could go wrong with this plan, but he had not even thought of full moons. Slipping up this much was definitely a bad sign; he was smart, he should have realized that. But no, he was going to listen to a werewolf and buy an amulet, put it on the werewolf, and then all the werewolf had to do was wait until the full moon and slip it off. Merlin, he was an idiot.

Sirius looked over to the werewolf's face for any change in emotion after his plan was thwarted, but there was none. Damn.

"And it works?" Sirius asked.

Borgin looked appalled, "of course it works!"

"Then we'll take it." He said, roughly yanking the werewolf toward the counter. As the shopkeep was ringing up the total, he explained that in order for the amulet to work properly something that come from the amulet wearer's body, such as hair, fingernail clippings, or blood ("A bloke came in here once that had used his own eyeball") must be placed inside.

"I really hope this one didn't have an eyeball in it." The wolf said as they exited the shop, poking the small paper bag their purchase was contained in.

Sirius spared it a brief thought before tucking the bag into an inner robe pocket, "nah, it wasn't the right shape."

"A dehydrated eyeball then."

"You mean like he just tossed it in with his grapes when he was making some raisins? I think the eyeball taste to the raisins would get a bit annoying."

"I'd think only having one eyeball would get bit annoying."

Sirius thought of Mad-Eye Moody, and his one eye, deciding that it was probably more unnerving to others than annoying to Mad-Eye himself. He probably even liked his missing eye, due to the great advantage his magical eye had over a normal one.

Sirius hesitated, a little voice wondering if he would ever see Mad-Eye again. "So, what was it you said about some possible leads?"

xx

Sirius trudged along Knockturn Alley, feeling dirty. He had just spent hours talking to Dark Arts practitioners, probably Death Eaters. Nasty witches and wizards with ratty hair and missing teeth, every stereotype a muggle could think of. All trying to sell things, being more than a bit perturbed when, even after all their questions, they had refused to buy. The vendors tried all sorts of tactics, nice clerk, angry clerk, desperate clerk. They had even given out free samples.

Sirius was throwing the toenails away as soon as he got the chance.

Frustrated, he kicked a pebble down the street.

"Ah well, it was worth a shot anyway." The werewolf said as he brushed back a strand of shaggy hair from his face, "I'm not surprised we couldn't find anything. It was asking an awful lot to expect a werewolf to confide in any human."

Sirius stumbled as the werewolf unexpectedly stopped, and watched quizzically as the wolf cocked his head to the side.

"Watch out!" He shouted suddenly, pulling them both back just in time for Sirius to see a bolt of purple _something_ hit where they were just standing.

They ran, trying to get out of the open, in between two buildings. "What the hell was that?" Sirius asked, drawing his wand.

"What the hell did it look like?" The werewolf was turned, scanning the street in front of them. "We're under attack."

"No shit! I meant: who is attacking us?"

As if on cue, there was a loud _crack_ behind them. They turned just in time to see a large, grisly looking man hurl another spell.

"Duck!" Sirius shouted, and the spell whizzed over their heads; he could hear it sizzle where it clashed harmlessly with the ground. He looked up just in time to see the assailant charging right at them, in an obvious head-on attack he could have easily dodged if he had been alone. As it were, he and the lycan tried to go in opposite directions, and the result was neither of them going anywhere. The next thing he knew the brunet was pressed against the wall with a hand to his throat.

"Drop your wand or I'll snap his neck!" The attacker growled at Sirius, who hesitated. Giving up your only line of defense was incredibly stupid. The violence could always be a bluff, but seeing the assailant was easily holding a full grown werewolf off the ground, he could probably do it. It would be awfully hard to fight dragging a dead body around.

"I said drop it!" Sirius watched as the werewolf kicked, desperately trying to catch something that would hurt the other man. He clawed with bandaged hands at the grip on his neck, doing all he could to allow his airways even a shallow breath.

Sirius dropped his wand.

There were agonizing moments when there was no movement, no sound, save for the werewolf's attempts to free himself. Sirius found himself doubting the decision to drop his wand was; now both of their fates rested in their attacker's hands. He tried to squash the fear he felt welling up, seeing how hard the werewolf was struggling and was still unable to get loose, Sirius did not think their attacker was human either. Finally, without warning, the large man released his grip.

Sirius got yanked to the ground as the werewolf fell, and could only watch as the lycan sputtered and tried to breath. Upon hearing his first shuddering lungful of air, Sirius was silently thankful that his windpipe had not collapsed under the pressure. Then they would really be in trouble. He resisted the urge to move the brunet's hands away from his throat, and assess the damage himself. Instead, he turned toward the figure above them, and saw that he was smiling at them smugly.

Sirius growled, and the large man laughed. "You should leave the growling to the beasts, human." The tall man towered over them and let out a deep, rumbling growl that probably would have made a lesser man piss his pants. Sirius knew that the new werewolf was just showing off, but it still creeped the hell out of him.

"Varulv," the brunet croaked from beside him, tone strangely commanding "why are you here?'

The new werewolf stepped back a bit, and Sirius felt and odd sense of relief as the shadows on his face lessened. Not the fact that the dangerous werewolf was further away, but because there was more light on his face. That made sense.

"Well, it's quiet simple really" he answered dramatically. "We got word you, our dearly missed comrade, was in Knockturn Alley with human. Since we've all been wondering what you've been up to, I _graciously_ volunteered to come and see if it were true."

The brunet rolled his eyes. "That's you: always putting others before yourself." Remus adjusted his position against the wall with a wince. "So who told you we were here?"

There was the unnerving smile again, "Loid."

Even though that did not mean anything to Sirius, it obviously did to the werewolf on the ground, because he frowned. "I still say he's going to cause problems someday."

"Maybe you're right" Valruv shrugged, "You know, I always thought you had a soft spot for humans. And here you are." Sirius, who was feeling very naked without his wand, tried no to move unnecessarily as the large lycanthrope gazed down at him. "I see you've found yourself a pet. How long do you think this one will last?"

The brunet let out a low growl even more menacing than the one that had come from the larger werewolf.

Sirius jumped as the standing lycan laughed once again. "I'd say not long. How can you stand it, Remus? His fear smells delicious."

"You disgust me" The brunet ground out through clenched teeth. He paused a moment, before saying more calmly "Besides, I thought you had tired of humans. Can't get any sweeter than catching an Order member, didn't you say? Everyone is just seems like easy after that."

Sirius had never said a word about the Order, having told the werewolf as little as possible. Did the lycan already know who he was looking for? Was it the werewolf standing above them? It made Sirius want to reevaluate the werewolf's motives for staying with him.

That deep, barking laugh sounded again, causing Sirius to jump as his attention was brought back to the large werewolf. He would really love for him to stop doing that. "I wish. That'd be one hell of a way to boost my status in the pack.

The brunet cocked his head in apparent confusion, "if it wasn't you, then who was it?"

He shrugged, "I haven't heard a word about it. But whoever it was was one lucky bastard."

Sirius felt his anger flare up, "What the hell is that supposed to mean!" He lunged at the werewolf, only to be yanked back on his ass by the chain. He vaguely hear Remus cry out in pain "Get up!" He shouted at the brunet, "Did you hear what he just said? That's a life he's talking about!"

The werewolf on the ground just sat gritting his teeth. "Ah, well," the large man answered instead, "I'll let you two work this out, seeing that there is really no more need for me here." He paused, sincerely looking at the brunet "sorry if I earned you a night on the couch."

The brunet sighed, and Sirius could have sworn he saw his eye twitch. "Just leave, Varulv."

There was a loud _crack_ and he was gone.

Immediately, Sirius turned on him "You! You horrible…thing!~ You—"

"I have a name, you know." The brunet interrupted. "And I know what you're going to say. It was just a good guess that your friend was in the Order, and the look on your face confirmed it for me."

"What about—"

"Varulv and I used to be in the same pack. If anyone knows anything, they're supposed to tell him about it. His duty is kind of like that human job…secretary, right? Those further up in the rank are busy so they have a hard time keeping track of everything, so he does it for them. He's been there for as long as anyone can remember, so if anyone knew it'd be him."

"So—"

"I never heard anyone talk about killing an Order member. Making up that story was the only way I could think to ask without being obvious about it. And since Varulv didn't know, we pretty much ruled out an entire pack of suspects."

Sirius yanked hard on the chain connecting their hands, "stop doing that!"

"Interrupting you?" The brunet shrugged, "Not a problem. I just got sick of you doing it to me earlier today."

Sirius grumbled, climbing to his feet and yanking the werewolf with him. "Let's get back to Diagon Alley."

The lycan smiled, and the expression looked nothing like it did on Varulv's face. "Sounds great."

Looking at him suspiciously, Sirius started back into the alleyway. "Why're you so happy?"

"Oh, just it's been a long day. And after the stress of the attack and all, I think you deserve a treat."

Uh oh.

"We could get something like pork chops, or how about roast beef? Beef is always good. We should stop for a real meal, one where you can sit and take a load off your feet. You must be starving."

It continued like this as they made their way back through Diagon Alley, with its Ministry posters staring at them now that the unusually busy day of shopping had died down. Finally, as Sirius was unable to take it any longer, he agreed to stop at the Leaky Cauldron for a decent dinner.

Sirius found himself pondering Varulv's words about Remus' attitude towards humans. He knew it was silly, but he could not help it. After his stomach was full and his feet were rested, Sirius felt better than he had in awhile now. He felt strangely relaxed in the presence of a werewolf.

It was worrying that that didn't bother him more.

_**To be continued . . .**_


	5. Rest

**Title**: Obolus

**Author**: Zampersand

**Summary**: What if Remus Lupin had never been accepted into Hogwarts, and was now on the Ministry's Most Wanted list? What if Sirius Black was a member of the Ministry's Beast Division, specializing in the capture and termination of werewolves?

**Posted**: January 29, 2008

**Revised:**__October 10, 2009

**Author's Notes:** Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

**Chapter Four – Rest**

Sirius Black would someday like to create a Utopia, his own perfect wonderland where everything would go his way. Nothing would ever bother him again; anything that tried would immediately be smoted upon by Sirius' own personal smote-flunky. There would no werewolves, flies in his soup, or squeaky Styrofoam to slowly drive him insane, squeak by agonizing squeak. And every last, bloody amulet would open at his will.

Sirius violently shook the necklace, leaving it to lie on the floor when it flew out of his hand, still unopened. The stupid trinket deserved it anyway, to be left there on the cold, hard floor.

"I can't get it open." Sirius announced.

He waited for some sardonic remark about blowtorches or sledgehammers from the other side of the room, but none came. Quizzically looking over to where he knew the werewolf to be, and it was quite obvious the lycan hadn't been paying him any mind.

Sirius opened his mouth to get the wolf's attention, but no words came out. Instead, he just watched for a moment. The werewolf looked exhausted; his form slumped at an odd angle due to his wrist being handcuffed to the back of Sirius' antique couch. He was staring listlessly out the window with sunken eyes.

Actually, the strong line of his jaw and his cheekbones gave his entire face a very gaunt appearance. Sirius couldn't help but wonder how handsome the man before him would be if he were not so skinny. For the first time, he found himself thankful for the wolf's constant requests for food. Sometimes the werewolves he captured refused meals that were offered to them, having already given up by the time they were in the custody of the Ministry.

Not that Sirius could blame them. He thought of all the scars he had seen littering of the werewolves he had ever met. Many even made a point of stressing how painful their transformations were, how hard their lives had been since they were turned. Of course, he had never cared before, there was no reason he should now.

"Hey." Sirius said at last.

There was no reaction.

"Hey, you!" He tried again.

Slowly a pair of brown eyes turned, and Sirius watched as the brunet frowned at him. "I have a name."

"Okay. I've tried and tried and I can't pry the amulet open. There wasn't a spell or anything he forgot to tell us about, is there?"

Remus shook his head, "No, it should just open."

"Well, it didn't."

"Did you take the cover off?"

Sirius picked up the amulet from the floor. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the head of brown hair sag tiredly, "there should be a cover that slips or slides or twists or something. It's made for a werewolf. Things like that usually have a cover to conceal the silver underneath."

Sirius, who had wasted precious moments of his life trying to pry every crack on the blasted thing open, nearly chucked the thing across the room when a semicircular cover on the front screwed off. This allowed him to remove another outside piece to expose the silver inside.

"So, the cover is so you can wear it, and the silver is to keep you from messing with it." Sirius said slowly while trying a series of motions to open the amulet. "What keeps you from just working through the pain like you did with my trap?"

The other man slowly rubbed his eyes on back of his hand. "Your trap is poorly designed; all it needs is a quick burst of strength to get it open. That thing, on the other hand, needs precise movements to get it open…as I'm sure you have realized. Think of it like trying to open the clasp on a necklace that has just been pulled out of the fire."

Finally, the silver amulet opened with a _click_. "Got it," Sirius smiled triumphantly.

"Only two more to go."

Sirius glared at the merrily twinkling pieces of jewelry."You really know how to bring a guy down."

The brunet's lip twitched as he laid his head back against the couch. Opening the next two pieces of jewelry was easier, now that he already had the basic idea of what to do. Inside the larger amulet that would be attached to the lycan, there was an odd purplish goo, and in the smaller two there was a similar but orange mixtures.

He had the strangest urge to play with it, thinking of that muggle Jell-O Lily had introduced to him. The brain-like jiggliness of it fascinated him. He now knew what harry must feel like at snack time."Can I touch it?"

"No. It would contaminate the potion with your biomatter, and we'd end up tracking you instead." He yawned and stretched his spine in a way that caused every muscle in his body to shake, before settling down in a boneless slump. It reminded Sirius much of a large dog claiming the couch for the night. "Actually, on second thought, go ahead. Touch it."

"Whatever. Just give me a few strands of your hair."

This got him a raised eyebrow. "But I was going to spit in yours."

Everything else to do with amulets was quite simple. Sirius experimented with different ways to break or hex the amulets open, but nothing worked and was satisfied that they would not break. They were also easy to operate, and Sirius was feeling quite relieved until the wolf brought up a very god point.

"So how are you going to get that other amulet to your friend?"

Up until this point he had been thinking that he would, of course, give it to James. Even with the war going on, he had always been able to go see the Potters at whatever time he wanted.

But he could not go see the Potters now. There was a dark creature lounging on his couch that he did not want anywhere near James or Lily, and especially not Harry. He couldn't leave him here, either, as that was just asking for trouble. The Potters were not on the Floo Network, either, and the post was too risky… Sirius had no idea what to do.

So, like any responsible adult, Sirius ignored the other man.

The werewolf remained silent for a few moments, but then"Hey! Don't ignore me. I'm already trusting you a lot with this. I have no idea who you're giving the locket to --it could be an auror, or even another Hunter—for all I know, you could even be planning on turning me in as soon as you're done with me."

"How dare you! I gave you my word that I'd set you free. Do you have any idea what that would mean for me if anyone ever found out what we're doing? I'd be finished. Through. Thrown into Azkaban."

The wolf laughed, "Right. Of course. Terribly sorry. I have no idea what that feels like. My former employers never _found out_ any of my secrets. I was never thrown out of my home or denied the wages I'd earned. No kids ever decided to _teach the monster a lesson_, and the Ministry never wanted to throw me into Azkaban for defending myself." The wolf viciously yanked at the handcuffs. "No, I guess you Hunters have got it pretty bad."

In all honesty, Sirius had pushed his Ministry assignment to the back of his mind. He had not questioned the werewolf at all. He had not even asked about the one detail that had been bugging him since he first read the attack report."What were the kids' names?"

The werewolf gave him an odd look "What does that have to do with anything? And how the hell should I know? My first thought wasn't _oh, gee, I'm being attacked. We had better all be proper and introduce ourselves._ I know I might not have the best people skills, but exchanging names didn't really seem appropriate at the time."

"So you'd never messed with the kids before? You didn't recognize any of them?"

"Should I have?"

He shrugged, "You had lived in the area for awhile. You can't tell me you never saw them around."

The wolf just sat with his eyebrows drawn together for a few moments, before his eyes went wide. "That's what this is all about, isn't it? I thought it was a little extreme, even for the Ministry, to be wasting so much effort going after me. Who were the kids, then? The offspring of some Hunter, hoping to make daddy proud?" Sirius was scrutinized by chestnut eyes, "no, that's not it. But I'm close. At least one of those kids was a Ministry brat. No wonder their manners were so poor."

"We were being extreme? You attacked those children and fled the scene of the crime."

The other man laughed. "Right. Of course. It's not like it even would have mattered if I had stuck around. It was my word against their's, and I'm not the human. It was either get thrown into Azkaban right then, or run. Running I at least had a chance."

"Running makes you look guilty."

"I'm a werewolf. I always look guilty."

Sirius looked at the man, who looked back with tired eyes. At least a few minutes ago when he had been angry there was a fire in his there. Now there was nothing.

Sirius nearly felt bad for what he had to do next. "Alright, sit up. I need to put this necklace on you." The werewolf complied silently, and Sirius found himself waiting for a sarcastic comment that never came. The grey eyed man sighed. "There. Now, get some rest. I'm going to go write a letter, and I'll fill you in come morning."

The lycan looked doubtful.

"Really, I'll tell you everything in the morning. Now sleep, you look about ready to drop."

"Drop? I'm already sitting down."

Sirius smiled. "Whatever. Just go to bed."

Shoving the tracking amulets into his robe pocket, Sirius made towards his room. He had some writing to do.

_**To be continued . . .**_


	6. Roll Over

**Title**: Obolus

**Author**: Zampersand

**Summary**: What if Remus Lupin had never been accepted into Hogwarts, and was now on the Ministry's Most Wanted list? What if Sirius Black was a member of the Ministry's Beast Division, specializing in the capture and termination of werewolves?

**Posted**: October 11, 2009

**Author's Notes:** No beta, but proofread by me as much as I could. I was nearly tempted to post this in two segments, but here it is in one.

**Chapter Four – Roll Over**

This was a stupid, stupid idea. Sirius could not believe he was so gullible, and that he had not realized how gullible he was until this very moment. He felt exploited; knowing that those he loved and trusted had used him. He had been gullivized. He was a gullivized gullible man of gullibleness.

"You've taking advantage of me," he said.

"I know."

"You are a horrible person."

"I know, mate, I know."

"I shouldn't be associating with riff raff like you. I should send you away right now, kick you off my property."

"Riff raff?" A dark eyebrow raised. "Since when do you say '_riff raff'_? You sound like my grandmother," a pause. "Well, you would if I had ever met my grandmother. I always thought it was old age that caused vocabulary to degenerate into nonoffensive name-calling, though, now I'm wondering if it comes with isolation."

"Hey, step inside the protection barrier."

The other man ignored him. "You really have been away too long. It's the silence; it turns your brain to mush. Worse than that: raisin oatmeal. Your brain is now raisin oatmeal. Which is why I had to come all the way down here just to here this big secret---"

"Oi! Shut up and get inside the protection barrier."

The spectacled man scoffed, "you know, a "hello" would be nice" but made closer to Sirius' quaint cabin anyway, running a hand through his already ruffled hair. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Where the hell are we, anyway? You call me all the way over to this middle of nowhere town and—"

"No I didn't! I specifically told you not to come."

"Refuse to tell me why. Then the first thing you do is make crazy allegations against by virtue."

"That's not—James, hey, WAIT!!"

"Not a _Hey, wonderful to see you mate_ or a _bloody hell, I've missed you_ but a—" James suddenly stopped, and stood staring at him from the doorway he just opened. "Sirius, why is there a man handcuffed to your couch?"

"That's actually what I was trying to tell you before when—"

"Chains seem to be a fetish of his," a coy voice overrode him.

_Too late._

"Are they now?" James asked, while walking into his home. "You know, I've always had a feeling…"

_God damn it._

"I'm surprised he hasn't mentioned anything before now. It seems to be a compulsion of his."

_Damn it all to hell._

"To tie me up, that is. He's always leaving me chained to things"

_Actually, God._

"I'm not surprised. Sirius can be a little controlling."

_Never mind._

"I've noticed. I'm Remus, by the way."

_Just kill me._

"James Potter."

"HEY! No! Not happening!"

In the brief conversation, the spectacled man had made his way across the room, and was now sitting next to the werewolf. The very very dangerous werewolf But. Sirius' outburst rewarded him with a disgusted look from his friend and a flinch from the other.

"Was there something you wanted to say, Sirius?"James asked, voice suddenly cold. And the look he was giving Sirius was unnerving.

"I—er, James. We need to talk, so I can expla—"

"That sounds like a lovely idea Sirius. Please explain this situation to me."

Sirius for some reason felt the need to explain himself. But first he wanted to get his friend away the werewolf. "I meant in the other room. If you'd just follow me…"

"No, Sirius, I don't think I will just follow you." Sirius was surprised at the speed in which his friendly went from joking to deadly serious. "You can explain to me, right here, right now, why you have an injured man handcuffed to your couch."

"I don't have an injured man handcuffed to anything." Sirius said, exasperated.

James sucked in a long breath and held it before asking "No?"

"I have a dangerous werewolf restrained in my living room. Now, if you'll get off the cou--"

"I am well aware of what he is. Sirius, believe it or not I actually do read the letters you send me. And I'm not an idiot. I can connect the dots. And I have been for ages. Used to do it with a crayon as a lad."

"Then why the hell are you sitting next to him!" Sirius was becoming increasingly agitated by James's lack of concern. "James, please, move away from hi—from it. Get away from it, its not safe."

James was still looking at him in that same unnerving way. "I don't feel as if I'm in any danger." He looked to the werewolf beside him, "do you think this couch is dangerous?"

Remus who had been looking increasingly uncomfortable during the whole exchange, just started at James with his eyebrows drawn up and his mouth slightly agape.

Sirius pulled at his hair, "James, you idiot! Not the couch. I meant the fucking dark creature sitting right there!"

James sighed. "Sirius, I know what you meant. I'm just choosing to ignore how incredibly rude you're being. Now stop bouncing around like an idiot and sit down. You're wound so tight it's making me nervous."

"You should be nervous!" Sirius exploded." You're sitting so close to that monster he could snap your neck before you even blink! James! You don't know what you're doing. I deal with things like him for a living, and you've never even…" Sirius' last word trailed off into an overly long "nnnnn" sound, as he watched James brusquely stand and walk towards him. His friend stood nose to nose with him for a moment, before bodily shoving him down into the armchair. "Oi!" Sirius protested.

"There. Now stay down, and shut up. I'll be right back. "James started to walk out of the living room, towards the bathroom. "And don't even think about moving."

There was silence for a few moments, before Sirius awkwardly stole a glance at the werewolf who was simply staring at the doorway James had just walked through. Neither of them said anything as they listened to the spectacled man move about the cabin.

After an awkward waiting period, James walked back into the room carrying a white case. "You didn't tell me you hadn't put the first aid kit away. It took me a while to find it," he explained as he sat back down on the couch. There were a few tense moments in which Sirius was sure James was just daring him to say something, but then his friendly prattled on in a happy tone that was making him nervous."You know, that bathroom of yours is ridiculously small. You can't even open the door fully without it hitting the toilet. I know it leaves more square meters for the rest of the house, but it still seems ridiculously cramped."

Sirius just watched James search through the medical kit, unsure of how to react to an angry friend who was now discussing the cosmetic issues of the loo.

"So, it's Remus, is it?" The brunet slowly nodded. "Sirius, would you kindly unlock Remus' handcuffs for me?

"WHAT?" Sirius yelped, shooting back onto his feet. "No way in bloody hell am I—"

"Sirius" James warned.

"You're insane." Sirius said with disbelief. "You've gone completely nutters."

Sirius stood in incredulity for a few moments, before he let out an infuriated noise and procured the key. "Fine! But if we both die horrible bloody deaths then I'm going to say I told you so."

Sirius had to lean over the werewolf to undo his bonds, and Sirius shivered at the feeling of breath on his neck. As soon as the bonds were undone the werewolf moved, bumping against Sirius in the process. Sirius quickly stumbled back and drew his wand his wand in defense. But the werewolf just narrowed his eyes and continued to stretch out his arm muscles.

"Better?" James asked the werewolf, who once again nodded slowly staring at James like he'd never seen anything like him.

"Good. Losing the circulation in your arms is now way to get those hands healed. Do you mind if I take a look at them?" Remus just shook his head.

"Good." James repeated.

Sirius had expected the werewolf to look smug about the whole situation, but instead he was just staring at James with a sort of lost expression. The bandaged limb he held out for James was trembling slightly.

As just began his work, he began talking."I can only assume that Remus is here and not…elsewhere, because you have agreed to do something incredibly stupid, Sirius."

"I, err, you see…"

"Don't you dare make any more excuses." James warned."Look, just…just shut up for a minute and let me think, okay?"

James' thinking time lasted much longer than Sirius thought he was going to be able to bare. It was rare that James was this openly hostile towards him. During his school days, they had agreed on nearly everything. He could not believe his luck to have such a brilliant friend. Of course they had their occasional spats, usually when James was being a prat mooning over Lily, but Peter had always been there to smooth things over. But now…now he wasn't. And James and himself seemed to be fighting more and more. Sirius hoped this time it wouldn't be too serious.

When James finally spok again, his words were not even addressed to Sirius. "That arse-wipe has been treating your wounds better than expected. Has hasn't hurt you at all since these, right?"

Remus shook his head, but Sirius was not even sure the lycanthrope had heard the question. Instead, he was blankly staring down at his newly bandaged hands.

"Good. That's good." James appeared to say to himself. Then more loudly he said, "Alright, so if you'll excuse us, I'm just going to go have a talk with Sirius in the other room." He stood, "Sirius, come on."

Sirius stood, but he hesitated. "James, I can't leave him unrestrained and unattended."

"Sirius—"

This time it was the werewolf who interrupted, "It's alright if he puts them back on." He said quietly, "I'd rather he didn't, but if it makes him feel better…"

James rubbed at his temples, "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"I'm sure," he nodded resolutely.

"Fine," he said to Sirius, who immediately handcuffed both of the werewolf's hands to the back of the couch.

"We'll just be in the other room," Sirius said pointedly to the werewolf, who already didn't appear to be listening again. He was just staring out the window.

They had barely rounded the corner into the kitchen before James started talking."Sirius, Peter's death has greatly affected us all. But now that he's gone there's nothing we can do about it. Getting yourself killed while trying to find his killer…I thought that becoming a werewolf Hunter was just about the most reckless thing you could possibly do. But to make a deal with a werewolf…"

"So you admit that he's dangerous?" Sirius couldn't help asking.

"Of course he's dangerous, idiot!" James smacked his arm, and Sirius winced. "But it's not because he's a werewolf. You've got a man in there that has been on the run for months. You captured him—"

"Actually," Sirius interrupted. "He turned himself in."

James appeared to puzzle over it for a moment. "Well, in any case, there a man in there with nothing left to lose. You can't just go traveling all of Europe with him, meeting all of his shady acquaintances--"

"So you admit that he's shady?"

"Sirius, don't look so damn smug!" James ground out. "You told me he's been a werewolf years and that he ran away from home as a kid. Where do you think I think an underage werewolf has to go? I'm not an idiot."

"You sure were acting like an idiot." Sirius said, expecting to get smacked again for it.

But no smack came, James just tiredly said, "Sirius, I was being polite. That's what you do when you first meet someone, you be polite.

"Yeah, but you don't have to sit right next to a dangerous dark creature on a couch and then insist we unchain it."

"That's a person in there Sirius! Augh!" James flopped down into one chairs at the table "You know what? I am not having this argument again right now. That's not the point. The point is that you're putting your life in the hands of someone you don't know. Someone with a Ministry warrant on his head."

"That's what I brought you here to talk about! I've got it all worked out." Sirius said, glad that they were finally getting to the point. "I've got this plan that involves tracking amulets. He'll have this collar on him that sends out a signal. And you and I will have these amulets that track the signal, so we'll be able to find him no matter where he is. If I suddenly disappear, all you have to do is hand your amulet over to the Capture Unit and he'll be taken into custody."

James looked doubtful. "How am I going to explain how I just so happen to know where a know fugitive is?"

"James! You're an auror and he's a werewolf. No one is going to care how he came to be captured, just that he was."

"Okay." His friend gave him a funny look. "So what about if you turn up dead or go missing? I'm I just supposed to accept that?"

James looked hurt, and this left Sirius at a loss for words.

"Didn't think that one through, now did you? Sirius, when you die you're going to leave behind people who care for you." James said, voice rising again. "Please just call off this stupid manhunt. You can still just turn him in like you should have in the first place. Then—"

Suddenly, a large cracking sound could be heard from the other room. It sounded almost as if someone was tearing a large branch from a tree. Immediately, both men had their wands drawn and were running into the living room, only to find the cabin door wide open and the couch empty of its past occupant. Or, they found what was left of the antique couch. The entire back where the handcuffs had been attached had been ripped apart.

"I can't believe I thought that would hold him," Sirius said, cursing himself as he ran out the door. Once outside, he looked wildly around hoping to catch a glimpse of the fleeing werewolf. He could hear the sound of crunching underbrush, but it was hard to tell which direction the noise was coming from.

"This way!" James called, running around the side of the cabin.

"Be careful! Even unarmed he's still dangerous!"

"I know!" James grunted at him as they both ran out of the clearing the cabin was in and into the woods. "Get that amulet out! If he gets much further ahead of us he'll be easy to lose."

Of course! Sirius reached into his robe pocket, only to realize the necklaces were not there. He felt his heart plummet into his stomach, trying to think of where they could have gone."Shit! I think he has the tracking amulets!"

"What?!" He was sure James was silently cursing him. "Fine! He's injured, anyway. He's not going to get far."

He could just barely make out a figure clumsily making his way through the woods, but it was there. Even if the werewolf tried to hide now, they'd easily be able to see where he was going. He was fast, but, just as James said, his injured leg seemed to be slowing him down a great deal.

Suddenly, though, the figure disappeared from sight. Sirius' eyes widened in fear and he started into a sprint, hoping to catch sight of the werewolf again.

"Sirius! Wait!" James said, grabbing hold of his arm to slowing them both down to a near stop .Sirius continued to try to drag him along.

"James! What do you think you're doing!?" Sirius violently attempted to jerk his arm out of his friend's grip, "He's going to get away!"

"Just stop! Take a look where you're going!" James shouted desperately, grabbing onto his arm even tighter."

Sirius doubtfully came to a complete halt, just itching to continue the chase. The forest was suddenly very silent, outside the sounds of their heavy breathing. Strangely, Sirius didn't even hear the sound of the lycanthrope escaping off into the distant woods.

"You were about to run off a ledge." James said, the relief evident in his voice. Sirius looked forward, not seeing anything but green on green. Carefully and much more slowly Sirius made his way forward, and he was shocked to see that the earth did indeed simply come to an end. He peered over the edge to find a short drop. 'The ledge' wasn't as bad as he originally had feared, and he could actually make his way down it if he were to simply sit and slide himself down it. But if he had gone barreling through like he had planned….ouch.

At the bottom of the drop was lay Remus, who was apparently experiencing that ouch.

Sirius quickly, and with as much dignity as he could muster, sat on his butt and made his way down the ledge. As he got closer to the werewolf, he could hear that he was making a sort of high pitched whining noise.

"Alright," Sirius said irritably when he got to the bottom. "Was that worth it? Now you're even more injured and---hey! No you don't!" Sirius quickly caught hold of the lycanthrope who was trying to crawl away and flipped him over onto his back. And the werewolf Hunter could only watch in horror as the brunet curled onto his side and hid his face in his arms, repeating "no, no, no, please, no" in between great sobbing gasps for breath.

Sirius hesitated, his anger suddenly dissipated, and was at a complete loss of what to do. Werewolves were supposed to fight tooth and nail to get away, not…this."No, hey, don't do that. Come on…" He said while trying to move the werewolf's arms he could see his face. But the only response this got was the wolf curling in tighter on himself. Sirius had no idea how to react to this, and looked up at James for help. His friend only shook his head sadly and shrugged, looking as out of place as he felt.

"Hey! Hey" Sirius tried again, sitting down next to the werewolf. This was ridiculous, the lycanthrope was shaking like he knew the end was coming. "We aren't going to hurt you, Remus "Sirius couldn't stand to see anyone so afraid of him. "You got yourself into this mess, remember? If you had just stayed—"

"If I had just stayed you were going to turn me over to the Ministry!" The brunet suddenly cried, trying to distance himself from the Hunter with a grimace. "W-We had a deal, and you lied to me! Y-you were just gonna—"

"No! I wasn't "just gonna"." Sirius said, suddenly angry again. "Besides, what are you so freaked about, anyway? You turned yourself in so I could hand you over to the Ministry!"

"That was before!" Remus cried, and continued backing away from Sirius until his back hit the ledge he had fallen from. "That was before I knew they were going to charge me with attacking a Ministry official's child. Now they'd…"Remus stopped talking as he hid his face in his arms again.

Sirius let out an maddened sound, "Don't do that!" He started toward Remus again, but James stopped him.

"Sirius," he whispered, "let me try." He knelt down next to the brunet, speaking gently. "Remus, Sirius was never going to go back on his deal and turn you over to the Ministry."

The werewolf didn't lift his head and spoke with a muffled voice. "I may be a monster but I'm not stupid. I could hear you talking, you know. You want him to turn me in."

"Yes, I think that would be in Sirius' best interests," James admitted. "But Sirius is a stubborn bastard that never would have listened to me. It was just wishful thinking on my part to try to get him to do anything else."

Remus lifted his head, looking resigned as he gazed up at James through his hair, "Why should I believe you?"

"You have no reason to trust us. But we aren't lying to you."

Remus' turned his gaze to the forest as he muttered, seemingly to himself. "Never trust a human."

"What?" James asked, it didn't seem like he heard him.

Shaking his head, Remus hid is face again. "Nothing. Do whatever you want with me, I don't care."

Sirius frowned at that, but, not knowing what else to do, stepped forward. "We're going to have to get back to the cabin. Can you stand?"

The werewolf nodded, "I'm fine."

Apparently, Remus' definition of fine, while it did indeed allow him to stand on his own, ended with Sirius half carrying him back to the cabin. Sirius hadn't realized quite how long the chase had lasted at the time, but it was nearly dusk by the time they arrived back at the cabin and got a fire started.

Sirius was in the kitchen fixing something to eat, when James walked in from the bedroom. "How is he?" Sirius asked.

"Staring at the wall" James replied. "He says he doesn't want any supper."

"Oh."

"I got the amulets back from him," James said as he held them both up by their chains. "I'm going to wear mine, and I suggest you do the same. He's good, yeah? We were both trained to detect that kind of stuff, and I didn't even notice when he took these. He's says he grabbed them from your pocket when you were uncuffing him, though.

"Yeah," Sirius nodded. "I figured as much. That's the only time I've been close enough to give him the chance."

James finally asked after an awkward silence. 'What would happen to Remus if you were to turn him in? What is he so afraid of?"

Sirius shrugged, "He would know better than I would, actually. Don't look so horrified. I just capture werewolves; I don't dole out the punishments. But he'd be a werewolf charged with the assault of a Ministry official's kid…Remus wasn't far off the mark when he said it would be extreme."

"And extreme would be…?"

"I don't know, okay!" Sirius took dinner off of the stove, turning so he could watch his friend. "We're war, James. The people and government have been living for fear for years, and our system has gotten pretty fucked up. Even I'll admit that some of the werewolves I take in don't deserve what happens to them."

"Then why do you do it?"

"We've been over this! You know very well why!"

James threw up his hands in defense, "Fine! Fine fine fine. I'm just making sure that you still remember why you're doing this. Don't want you to get lost. That's why good friends do, yeah?" James stood up, "Anyway, I can't stay any longer. I told Lily I'd be home for dinner, and I can't be late. Leaving the house worries her enough as it is."

Sirius took a calming breath. "Of course mate" Walking over to James, he gripped his friend's shoulder. "Thanks for coming out…even though I specifically told you not to. It was really good seeing you."

James threw the hand off of his shoulder and pulled Sirius into a tight hug, slapping him on the back, "It's been too long."

Sirius couldn't help but grin. "Take care of that family of yours." He said seriously.

"Always," James nodded stepping back. "Watch your back, okay?" He looked like he wanted to elaborate, but instead he turned and walked to the door. "Oh. One more thing, Sirius. Talk to him. He's seriously freaked about something. I…never mind Just be careful."

Sirius wanted to ask him what he was going to say, but James had already walked out of the cabin. He was more than a little apprehensive about being left alone with the werewolf again. Especially now that he was so…docile. Sirius had no idea how to deal with this. For some reason he cared that the werewolf was feeling insecure, and that made Sirius uncomfortable. It was just a werewolf, right? A dark creature whose word could not be trusted. So it didn't matter that they had made a deal, Sirius should just turn the dangerous werewolf into the Ministry whenever he needed to. This crazy plan of his was beginning to look far too unpredictable and dangerous.

As soon as Sirius walked into his bedroom and saw the unmoving figure lying on his side with the back to the door, such thoughts fell away. He placed both plates of dinner on the bedside table for the moment, and sat down on the bed next to the werewolf. There was no response or acknowledgment that the lycan had even noticed that he entered the room.

"How're you feeling?" Sirius asked, unsure of how else to start a conversation.

The werewolf shrugged.

"James said that you're pretty freaked out about something."

The werewolf didn't move.

"What are you so afraid of?" Great job. Barreling headfirst into this conversation is the way to do it.

"You." Oh. Maybe it was.

"Me?" Sirius was honestly confused. "What do you mean me? You seemed pretty comfortable before today, what changed?"

"Before I thought I'd be safe for a little while. Even if you didn't keep your end of the deal," He thinks I'm the untrustworthy one? "I'd at least have a few more months to think of a way out of this while I helped you. But you're thinking of turning me in right now…" He drew his knees up to his chest.

"I was never thinking of turning you in. I—"

Remus put his hands over his ears, "Stop lying! You gave the amulet to an auror! Not only that, but a Potter. There's no way you ever intended to let me go!"

"Hey, hey don't do that." When Sirius tried to move Remus' hands from his ears, but he werewolf flinched away. "Okay! I was thinking about it, okay? But I'm not going to do it. And James has the amulet because he's my best mate, I trust him with my life. He'll do what I ask. And I'm going to ask him not to turn you in. You're my last hope, Remus. Becoming a Hunter and questioning every werewolf with a warrant on his head has gotten me nowhere. They guy I'm looking for is obviously too smart to get caught. I need you, okay? With you helping me I'll be able to get into places and question people I never could before. So there's no way I could just turn you in now."

"I'm your token to get into hell." The werewolf muttered, and Sirius didn't think he was meant to have heard. "So what's to keep you from double crossing me at the end of all this?"

"What's to keep you from double crossing me in the middle of all this."

He could hear the frown in the other's voice."You know, answering a question with a question is really obnoxious."

"I know," Sirius smiled. "I guess we are going to have to put a little faith in each other, yeah?"

Remus sighed loudly. "Do you know how idiotic you sound? A werewolf and a werewolf Hunter having "faith" in each other?"

"Pretty dumb, huh?" Sirius was grinning now.

Remus began rolling off of his side toward Sirius, but stopped with a grunt of pain.

Sirius frowned; he couldn't help but feel concerned. "How bad is it?"

Remus wrinkled his nose, "Well, it was kind of the equivalent of doing a belly flop into a pool without any water."

"Ah," Sirius winced, thinking that he should probably take the werewolf to see a doctor in the morning. The silver burns would be pretty hard to explain, but he had enough money to pay someone off… "Anyway, I brought you some food. I probably overcooked it for you: its medium rare. But I even cut it up into little pieces so you didn't have to."

"Aww, gee thanks 'ma." Remus said while sitting up, but at least he was smiling again.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Shut up and eat your dinner."

_**To be continued . . .**_


End file.
